Searching
by yadeniky
Summary: What happens when Hardison sees Parker for the first time. AN: This is my first fanfic... please be nice : The second chapter is after the team gets to know each other, then the chapters continue in chronological order. Updated: 9/19/10
1. He sees her,

"Let's try to get her background info" said Hardison to his beloved equipment. Ever since he saw her, her image had been sketched permanently into his mind. The more he tried to forget her, the more the image burned. Her pale skin, sapphire eyes, blonde hair and her smile. It was definitely her smile what had him hung up, but her presence was what haunted him.

"She was quirky, awkward even, but you knew she was pure -and for a thief to be pure- well that's just it, thieves aren't pure." Hardison said to himself, as he quickly typed longing to find an answer to the mystery that is Parker.


	2. and he doesn't stop

"Is it me or is he staring again?" Parker asked to an obvious reply.

"Of course he's staring! He's been staring at you since he first saw you! You have certainly got yourself an admirer. "

Her face went blank. "Wh-" she started muttering under her breath but her question was answered before it was asked.

"What are you supposed to do about it? Well, Parker, the answer isn't so simple. There are several things that can be done. But I would advise you to do nothing, at least for the time being."

After seeing the young woman's puzzled look Sophie clarified, "I believe you should give him a chance, I know _you_ deserve a chance."

There was a moment of silence between the ladies. Sophie studied Parker's reaction, she could tell the poor girl was in over her head.

"Sometimes you have to take some risks, I think you of all people would know that." said Sophie in a maternal voice. The same tone that lets you know that everything will work out, that everything will be ok, that you will suffer no more.


	3. She sees him,

"Give yourself a chance." Sophie's voice echoed in her mind over and over again.

She had never felt this way. After a couple of jobs, a weird feeling started taking her over. She was unusually hyper - and for Parker herself to notice, well, she must be really, _really _hyper. She wanted to jump off the Empire State Building and the Sears Tower. She used all her energy to contain herself, but without noticing she was lightly twitching.

"Parker, are you ok?" asked Hardison

The sound of his voice sent shivers down her spine. She heard him, but she didn't quiet catch what he said. Her mind was busy controlling the urge to find a tall building and jumping from it.

"Parker!" he repeated startling her. "Whoa girl, it's just me." the hacker clarified after he saw how she jumped.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she said trying to appear as if it were true.

"Riiight…" replied the young man as he typed the world away.

"Hey Hardison," said the thief breaking the weird silence that occupied _their_ space. It was _their_ space, not hers, not his, but theirs; together. The thought of that made her feel weird, but a good weird. As she tried to suppress the goose bumps on her skin he looked up and she continued "have you ever gone rappelling?"

"What? Rappelling? As in jumping off to certain death and the only thing keeping you safe is a weird karabiner like contraption." said the young man quickly looking at her wondering where the question came from. "No Parker, I have not." he finally concluded.

"Oh…" was her only reply. After a couple of seconds of silence she finally said "Do you want to?" As she saw the scared expression on his face she asked herself why in the world she thought he would want to go rappelling.

"Gotcha!" Parker said quickly. Hardison felt a huge relief, he never wanted to say no to her, but the danger of it all paralyzed him. "That was close." he thought to himself. He continued admiring the thief's pale skin, her blue eyes, and well, everything about her. He noticed her expression turned glum-ish. He was about to move closer to comfort her when Nate's voice interrupted his action.

"Did you find a client yet?" asked the father like man, entering the room.

Hardison cleared his throat quickly and went back to his typing. He had acted like if he were a child doing something he knew he wasn't supposed to be doing. "Uh, Yeah. I think my crawlers found us a good one." Even though he was talking to the mastermind his eyes fell towards the thief. "_Us_" he heard himself say under his breath. "Not you, not me, but us" ran across his mind.

"Good." said Nate while he regretted walking in what was clearly their space. As he noticed Parker drifting into a weird daze he finally said, "Call the rest of the team."


	4. and he gets her

Author's notes: This is set after The Stork Job. I wanted to give them a little bonding situation while maintaining their, mostly Parker's, security bubble. Hope you like it.

PS. Reviews are truly awesome XD lol. Please don't hesitate to comment, that way I can improve my writing skills.

Chapter 4: 223 words

"He's a foster kid too? I wouldn't have guessed it. I don't think any of us would've. He's so… _normal_. As normal as a geek can be anyway." she chuckled at the thought of Hardison in Star Trek gear. "I wonder if he… " the thief stopped herself. "Nah, sometimes not knowing is best…"

"Hey Hardison?" her curiosity won over her reasoning.

"Yeah?"

"You can access any government account right?"

"Ha! I can access any account on any building in any State of any branch of our government. Please girl, now I feel a little insulted…" he continued mumbling.

After his brain analyzed what just happened, Parker kind of preparing to ask a favor, he looked at her and asked in the most humble and honest way he could "wh- do you need something?"

She looked at him fighting the urge to tell him what was on her mind. "No, just wondering."

"Are you sure?" he questioned

She was already walking away. "Parker, if you ever want or _need_ anything, just say the word and you know I'll make it happen."

She snorted.

"I mean it Parker. I'll make it happen, no matter what."

She turned back and gave him a farewell glance that had no other meaning but "Thanks."


	5. Can you see what I see?

AN: So this takes place after The Stork Job. When exactly? No idea. This chapter will be a third party chapter. Please let me know if you like it. Since I'm starting my freshman year next week I won't be able to post as much as I'd like *sad face*, but be sure that I'll be working on new chapters. I'm thinking of doing a music fic; I found the perfect song but I'm still working out the kinks in my mind before actually starting to write. [I'll shut up now]

Words: 303

PS: Thanks for all the love!

* * *

"That's interesting" said Sophie in an intrigued voice.

"Wh- what are you talking about?" Nate asked back, looking around searching for the interesting event.

"Can't you see? It's as clear as day; Hardison likes Parker!"

"That's not interesting, that's a fact" he replied in a smug voice.

"I know... but Parker, well it's pretty clear she likes him back."

"Nah, I don't see it. It's Parker anyway, she doesn't like anybody."

"Nate, reading a person is my job, my life actually relies on it; although it may be unclear to the drunken eye, but pretty clear to the sober one."

"Drunken?"

"Am I wrong?" she replied with a sad and disappointed look.

A silence fell upon them. He knew she was right. Sophie was clearly making a statement, however she felt instant regret. They did not dare look at each other. More silence lingered, until their eyes finally met.

"How can you tell?" he finally asked

She was glad he chose to ignore her hurtful remark. No matter how true it was, she had poked across the thin blue line.

"See the way she always sits a little too close to him? And the way her eyes follow his every move?" she said pointing to the thief's actions as if it were rehearsed. "I actually wouldn't be surprised if she kept a record of specific things... actually I bet she does." the grifter elucidated, all while looking at Nate from the corner of her eye. "Plus, her eyes twinkle when he's around. Not like his eye though, Parker's are subtle; easily missed, but the twinkle is still there."

The mastermind sat back observing the duo. He let out an acknowledgement smile when he saw what the grifter had just said.


	6. It's as clear as day!

AN: While watching Leverage reruns I spotted that in one episode Parker ended up wearing Hardison's scarf! So I decided to write this. I wanted to post it according to the chronological order but I can't remember what season it was [I'm pretty sure it was second season]. Since I haven't uploaded in a while I chose to post it now. Hope you like it :D [I won't be able to post as frequently as I'd like because I'm a college student and professors tend to suck your soul XD ]

Words: 585

PS. Thanks for all the love, it really means a lot! [Quiet time now]

* * *

It was now obvious that destiny has called upon a group of thieves to find justice. It was also clear that a group of lonesome thieves had become a family.

"There's a father, always with a plan; a mother, ready to explain everything; a big brother, who always had your back; and –" she stopped herself "Alec isn't like a brother, no, he's different." He made her feel weird, a good weird nonetheless.

She was starting to get irritated. She still couldn't figure it out. "What is Hardison's role?" she asked herself over and over again determined to find the answer.

Days passed and the puzzle lingered in the back of her mind. _Not a father, not a brother, but still very, very close. You know you're always safe when you're with that person_. Some extra days passed and still the question remained unanswered.

It was bothering her way more than she'd like. _Not a brother, not a father, but still you feel like they know you better than you know yourself.__  
_  
Now not only the question loitered in her mind, but she also wanted to be closer to him, physically closer. By now she could tell when it was him walking through the threshold. His presence was annoyingly becoming a necessity, so she hatched a plan. It was simple, anyone could do it, but still she prepared like if she were breaking in a bank.

She constantly saw him wearing different beanie and scarves. The thief liked that he always wanted to be warm. She knew if she was ever cold, he could keep her warm, he _would _keep her warm. "That's it!" she thought "a scarf!"

She liked the black and white plaid one. She thought it was appropriate considering their ethnicity. Black and white fibers were mixed creating a final product, a successful one. She wasn't really sure what it meant but she still liked the idea. "He wore it a couple of days ago, that means it's accessible." she gleefully said to herself.

The next day the plan was a go; the scarf would be hers. In and out in under three minutes.

Two days passed and - to Hardison's knowledge - the scarf had despaired into thin air. He searched for it everywhere. "I can't believe I lost it! Dang, it was my favorite one! Light and dark, the perfect combination." he talked aloud searching frantically.

Another two days passed and he saw Parker wearing the scarf.

"Hey parker, where'd you get that scarf?" He asked curiously.  
"Umm, I bought it." She said with a questioning tone.  
"Is that my scarf? Parker!"  
"I liked it, plus it was there for the taking." She defended herself weakly.  
He thought about what to tell her, too many things came to his mind. The hacker finally said "If you like it that much, you could've ask."

Her eyes looked at his. The weird feeling started to gain control of her body, her knees felt weak, her hands were lightly shaking and her heart was beating way too fast.

She put her hands on the scarf. Parting with it would've been hard, but she was ready to give it back.

"Keep it" he said smiling "I like it better on you. Just, treat in nicely, it's my favorite one."  
"Mine too" she said.

He could only hope that it had a similar meaning to her as it did him.


End file.
